SR0076 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0076 LRB095 11298 MST 31919 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Senate of the State of Illinois wish to express their sincere condolences to the family and friends of Morris B. Chapman of Edwardsville who passed away on Sunday, February 18, 2007; and

WHEREAS, He was born in 1919 in Granite City to Robert and Gladys Chapman; he was united in marriage for 59 years to Thelma (Hoggett); and

WHEREAS, He was a highly respected trial lawyer, graduating from St. Louis University Law School in 1942, and practicing law for more than 63 years in the Granite City area; he was a past president of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the Tri City Bar Association; he was also an Illinois State committeeman for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, a member of the prestigious Inner Circle of Advocates, and a member of many other law-related organizations; in 1954, he became the youngest lawyer at the time to have argued before the United States Supreme Court; and

WHEREAS, He was active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s and 1970s; he was a life member of the NAACP and marched in Chicago with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1966; as a younger lawyer, he did volunteer work with the ACLU in Mississippi; he was a member of the Baha'i Faith and his family lived in Guatemala for three years serving the faith, and while there was a member of the Guatemalan Baha'i National Spiritual Assembly; he then lived in Trinidad and Tabago for two more years serving the Baha'i faith; and

WHEREAS, He was an avid aviator, horseman, automobile enthusiast, and watch collector; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Morris B. Chapman has been deeply felt by many, especially his wife, Thelma; his children and their spouses, Morris Chapman Jr., Martha and Jim Leary, Melissa and Phil Rheinecker, Amy and Greg McCamus and James Chapman; and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren; he was preceded in death by his parents; his son, Robert Chapman; his brother, Robert E. Chapman; and his twin sister, Doris Fleming; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Morris B. Chapman and we extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to his family as an expression of our deepest sympathy.